Southeast Kansas facts for kids
Southeast Kansas is a special area, or region, located in the U.S. state of Kansas. You can think of its borders by looking at Woodson County in the northwest, Bourbon County in the northeast, Cherokee County in the southeast, and Montgomery County in the southwest. This area has gentle, rolling hills and lands. It sits between the Flint Hills to the west and includes parts of the Ozarks in the southeast. Important towns in Southeast Kansas include Pittsburg, Parsons, Coffeyville, Independence, Chanute, Fort Scott, and Iola.
This region covers about 13,624 square kilometers (5,260 square miles) of land. In the year 2000, about 180,815 people lived there. This means Southeast Kansas has about 6.43% of the state's land and 6.73% of its people. It gets more precipitation (rain and snow) than any other part of Kansas. Southeast Kansas is part of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, which is a type of grassland found in North America.
Contents
History of Southeast Kansas
Long ago, many Native American tribes lived in this area. Later, towns began to grow, often focused on cattle ranching and mining. Before and during the American Civil War, there was a lot of conflict here over the issue of slavery. This time was known as Bleeding Kansas.
Mining in the Region
Southeast Kansas was part of the Tri-State lead and zinc mining district. This district also included parts of southwest Missouri and northeast Oklahoma. However, the most common type of mining in Southeast Kansas was for coal. There was a lot of coal here, and it was of good quality and in thick layers.
Fort Scott National Historic Site
If you want to learn about early life in the United States Army, you can visit the Fort Scott National Historic Site. This place has been rebuilt to show what it was like back then. It helps us understand the history of the area.
Counties of Southeast Kansas
When people talk about Southeast Kansas, they usually include these nine counties:
Sometimes, other counties are also included when people talk about Southeast Kansas. For example, when people call the area the Little Ozarks, they add Anderson, Chautauqua, Coffey, Elk, and Linn Counties. The Southeast Kansas Library System also includes Greenwood County in this region.
